Predilection
by Kloudy Reignfall
Summary: The first day of Junior year and already Ed wishes it'd be over. With a frustrating new teacher, an overzealous new rival, rising family tension, and confusing new feelings, he'll be lucky to survive the first month! Shounen ai, AU, etc...
1. Chapter 1

**Predilection**

_By Kloudy Reignfall_

Disclaimers and Warnings and stuff: Alright, so I don't own FMA. I know, sorry to disappoint you. :shakes head: Oh, and there are a lot of put-downs about certain types of people, so just so you know I don't have anything against any of those people, such as: Jocks, porn stars, Freshmen, tall people, and short people. :laughs: Oh, and there's some 'bad' language too.

Hallo, welcome! Nice to see you all! Thanks for dropping in on my story. I hope you like it! I feel like I'm taking a big leap posting this, because nobody's read it yet and I have no idea how good it really is. I guess I'll find out. Oh, and sorry about the title. It has nothing really to do with the story. That just happened to be the name of the song I was listening to as I first started to write this, so that's what I called it.  
I feel a bit stupid for writing what seems to be such a generic fic, you know, the high-school thing, inserting characters as students and teachers and such, but… I dunno, the idea just wouldn't let go. Anyway, I actually kind of like it…

Oh, BY THE WAY: In case I didn't mention, this story will be SHOUNEN-AI and have multiple pairings, at least somewhere in the near future. At the present, it's a bit general and vague, but such is the way of first chapters.

Read on, dear fans!

Chapter One

Edward had never really noticed how common his name was until his first day of 11th grade. There was at least one other Edward in each of his classes; three others in his third period class! Granted, they weren't all different people, but still.

He sat lazily at one of the desks on the left wall of his World History class, waiting for the teacher to get in and wondering what this year was going to be like in comparison to last year. Things were basically the same, so he didn't see how it would be any different except for his classes. The same monotonous, meaningless stuff as always. And that was _alright_, but he was really in need of some sort of change.

As Edward had been lost in shallow thought the teacher had come into the room and settled behind his desk in the front left corner of the room, just by the door.

To Edward he looked much like any other teacher (except perhaps a bit younger than most, and with a cold gleam in his eyes), but it was apparent that his opinions differed greatly from those of every girl in the room. At each breath, there was a shiver through the spines of the entire female half of the class and each look sent them into a fit of silent, quivering giggles.

At this, the teacher smiled faintly, not looking up from the papers he held. The girls all thought he was gorgeous and he knew it. Edward scoffed. People like that pissed him off. There were too many of them that he already had to tolerate, and now his teacher! What a lovely year he was in for in this class, he thought sarcastically. But then, he _had_ wanted something different and at least this _was_ different.

He studied the man as he waited for class to really begin. The teacher was still looking over what Ed assumed to be the roster. At least, that's what it looked like he was doing. He was probably really scanning through the students to find the hottest girls. He seemed like that kind of person, the kind who would seduce young girls because they were so easy and trusting.

_Pedophile,_ Edward thought with vague, self-righteous disgust._ People like that should be imprisoned, or at least neutered._

Now the teacher lifted his eyes and stood to face the whiteboard behind him where he began to write his name.

'Mr. Mustang.' Even his name sounds like it would belong to a pedophile. Or a porn star.

The teacher, Mr. Mustang, turned to the class and gave a smile that made all the girls giddy and caused Ed to roll his eyes in annoyance. And then he spoke.

"Good morning class, welcome to World History. My name is Roy Mustang, but please don't call me Roy or I'll have to write you up." His eyes sparkled slightly, creating an innocent illusion for the girls sitting on the edge of their seats who were fully focused on the sound of his voice. "I'll be your teacher for the duration of this class. It's my first year at this school, so don't be too rough on me. I hope we can all learn something interesting this year." He finished his introduction speech and sat back down with his roster, all eyes (or at least all female eyes and many of the male ones) still focused on him.

"Right, well let's all introduce ourselves, starting with you over there in the right corner."

Edward sighed and put his head down on his desk. He didn't need to listen to this since he already knew most of the names of the people in his classes anyway, just from previous years. Not that he really talked to many of them, but it was hard not to get to know a few people. Some of the names caught his attention though, like the three other Edwards. Each one called himself something different; one was Edward, another was Eddy, and the last was Ed. He didn't really have a problem with people sharing his name (not as if there was anything he could do about it), but they'd taken all of the forms of it! Now what was he supposed to call himself in this class? He'd say Ed, but having more than one person of the same name could get too confusing.

He was still pondering this when his turn came around. He stood like everyone else had, and announced his name to the class. He'd decided on his full proper name: Edward Elric.

Mr. Mustang blinked at him several times. "You're…" he began.

_If you say short I'm going to shoot you!_ Edward thought viciously at his teacher. (Edward, who stood at a full 5 feet, 1 inch, maybe 5'3" in his favorite boots, was always rather sensitive about his height, having been teased about it since middle school.)

"… another Edward," Mustang said shortly. Ed breathed a sigh of relief, his hate of this teacher lessening slightly at his being the first one not to have mentioned his height so far today. Then again… "And you're rather chibi," he finished with a smirk. Suddenly Edward hated this Mr. Mustang more than he thought possible. He sat down with a thud and angrily crossed his arms, glaring at the teacher as he signaled for the next person to stand.

This class was going to be certified hell, oh yes it was. How could he be expected to stand such an insufferable man within his presence, let alone teaching him for a whole year!

Soon the whole class had been introduced and the teacher stood once again. "World History is a very important subject," he said, "but it's also important to know a little history about the people you have to interact with every day. I'd like to know about all of you, and I'm sure you want to ask me some questions. Go ahead," he said with a flirtatious look.

The girls all instantly raised their hands and he nodded at them one by one to ask their questions while he answered.

"How old are you?" asked the first girl anxiously. Several other girls let their hands down in disappointment.

"I'm twenty-nine years old."

"Do you have a wife?" another girl inquired, a look of hope on her face.

Mustang laughed. "No," he said, still smiling, perhaps more so now, "I don't have a wife." The girl who asked (not to mention most of the others) looked obviously relieved.

"A husband?" one girl sitting in the back of the room asked.

He didn't laugh at this one, but he still smiled as he shook his head, although it seemed a bit stiff of a smile.

"Any kids, then?" suggested another.

"Nope," Mr. Mustang replied.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" a girl curiously asked him.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Rock, mostly," he said. "But I like a little metal sometimes."

Edward listened to the Q and A, slightly annoyed at the whole thing. He was just about to raise his hand and ask the teacher if he'd ever been incarcerated, when the bell rang for the end of class. The students rushed out in a hurry to their next classes. Edward lethargically gathered up his stuff and headed for the door, the last student. As he passed Mustang's desk, the smirking teacher called out with a friendly-sounding, "Have a nice day, Chibi Elric."

Ed violently fought off the urge to beat this teacher into the ground for that comment, and continued on to his next class, hoping against hope that he hadn't just acquired a new nickname.

OoOoOoOoO

By the time lunch rolled around, Edward was starving! Dealing with annoying new teachers and students could really work up an appetite. So far his classes didn't seem too incredibly hard, but it was still the first day yet. Luckily he didn't have any homework, but that was bound to change. He wandered into the lunchroom with a sigh.

_Damn it, _Ed cursed mentally, _I hate school! Such a pain in the ass. Why couldn't we have been home schooled? _

Idiot that he was, Edward was paying very little attention to where he was going and didn't notice that there was something in his way until he walked right into it. It was very solid, but it didn't hurt too much. Wasn't a pole, he deduced, as he picked himself up off the cafeteria floor. He looked angrily up to see what or who had decided to knock him down.

A very large, very pissed-off looking guy in a blue and gray letter jacket stared down at him. "What the hell was that for, you damn little punk? Watch where the hell you're going next time! Fucking freshman."

Edward sat on the floor, stunned, for about half a second. Then he was up in a flash, grabbing the goon in front of him by the front of his expensive jacket. "And just who the hell are you calling a little freshman, jackass!" But before the goon or any of his friends had a chance to react to the ballsy little pipsqueak in front of them, a hand grabbed Ed's shoulder and pulled him back.

"I'm so sorry about that!" Alphonse offered the disgruntled group of students. Without another word, he pulled his brother to a nearby table. (But not too near, for fear that the tall, muscular and angry jock wasn't satisfied with the end of their confrontation.) He sat Ed down on the bench roughly.

Alphonse sighed. "Geez, Ed. First day and you're already making enemies again!"

"Hey!" Ed protested loudly, "He knocked me down, ok? I was just trying to find you guys." He cast a glare over at the other table where the group seemed to have forgotten about him. "And they stole our table! That's where _we _sat last year!"

Al shook his head. He almost couldn't believe that Ed would get so worked up over something so trivial, like possessiveness over a table. _Almost._ But he'd dealt with Edward's antics for years and as crazy as it was, he was used it. He turned back to his brother who was still stewing. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, it's nice outside. Winry thought we could eat out there."

Edward nodded, no better alternative coming to mind, and followed his little brother outside.

It really was a nice day outside the confines of the school walls. Sure, they were still _at _school, but out in the cool air with the trees and flowers and lack of annoying I'm-better-than-you-because-I'm-taller jocks, Ed couldn't help but relax.

They found Winry sitting at one of the round stone tables in the middle of the large courtyard. Ed followed Al, who took a seat next to the blonde girl, and set his things on the table.

"Hey, Ed," Winry greeted with a smile. "How's your first day been so far?"

"Okay, I guess," he answered, noncommittal.

"He almost got into a fight with a senior," Al supplied. "I had to save his skin again."

"Well he knocked me down! And he called me a freshman," Ed told them defensively, though with less gusto than was normal for him.

Winry rolled her eyes. That was Edward for you, always getting angry about something or other. Usually it had to do with his height. Getting off a potentially dangerous subject, she decided to try for something neutral. "So, how have your classes been? Meet anyone interesting?"

Ed considered. "The classes are boring like always. There aren't any interesting people. They're all boring too. The most interesting person was the new World History teacher."

"Oh, yeah?" Winry asked, politely involved.

"Yeah. Smug, rude, ugly old bastard! _Mr. Mustang_," he mocked. "Even his name disgusts me!" Ed scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Mr. Mustang?" Al said. "Hmm. I think one of my friends had him for second period. Said he seemed like a nice guy."

"Hmph! Whatever. That guy's a jerk! I don't see why anyone likes him."

Winry cut in. "Yeah, some of my friends had him earlier too. They said all sorts of nice stuff about him."

Ed simply growled quietly.

Winry and Al, both just a little bit surprised at Ed's blatant hatred of someone he'd just met, turned to look the elder Elric in the eyes.

"Why does it bother you so much, Ed?" Winry questioned, a very slight smirk playing on her face.

"It doesn't-!" Ed began before his brother interrupted.

"He called you short, didn't he, Ed?" Al asked, the grin audible in his voice.

Ed seethed. "Ugh! That's not it!" He grumbled and put his head down on the hard table.

Winry cocked her head to the side innocently. "Then what _is it_?"

Ed's hands balled into angry fists. "I don't know! He's irritating! He just- I mean, he- I don't know!"

Al and Winry grinned at each other and then at Ed, who sat with his head in his arms. So easily flustered. Sometimes they almost felt bad about teasing him so often. _Almost_ being the operative word.

They patted him on the head and he smacked their hands away as they sat down to eat lunch in the warm afternoon sun.

**End Chapter One **

Well, there you have it, the first chapter! I started writing this completely on a whim one night. It was like midnight and I must have been on a major sugar-high or something. Anyway, when I started writing it, I had no idea where it was going, but by now I've actually written out a basic outline of several more chapters and I've got a pretty good idea of where I'd like to take it. Of course, at the rate that I update it'll be forever before we find out what actually happens. Heh.  
Well, I'm not begging or anything, but reviews certainly help inspire me to write. So, if you liked it, feel free to leave a review. If you didn't like it, feel free to leave a flame, but only if it's well written. :grin:  
Oh, yeah, and why don't you all take a guess as to some of the pairings? I don't think they are painfully obvious yet, but perhaps you can tell already.  
'Til next time.  
-Kloudy Reignfall


	2. Chapter 2

**Predilection**

by_ Kloudy Reignfall _

Wow, I just realized how long ago I posted the first chapter! UGH! I'm so horrible about updating! But, here's the next one, I actually finished it. And the third chapter is in the making.

Oh, but before we get going, I just have to thank some of my reviewers! (I love you guys!)

Sapphire Dreamer – Thank you! Yours was the review that really prompted me to post this next chapter. And it was rather encouraging. I appreciate it very much!

Anime Monster – Don't worry, you got the pairing right, so you can continue reading if you want.

The Plushie Bandit – I loved your review, it was like a story itself! And thanks for the Ed plushie!

Spades 44 – Last, but not least! I was honored by your review. :cries dramatically: I hope, if you are reading this, that it is to your approval. And don't forget to keep writing yourself! Your writing is my biggest inspiration.

Everyone else – Thanks so much for the reviews! I love them, I love them, I love them. And in case you didn't get the point, I love your reviews. Thank you all!

_Disclaimers and Warnings and stuff:_ I don't own FMA. I'm not even Japanese and I can't draw. Also, this is/ will be shounen-ai. Oh yes, and if you're easily offended… I'm sorry.

NOTE: "Nark" equals Campus Supervisor

Chapter Two

Boring. Edward could not seem to stop complaining about how boring school was this year. Oh, not that it had been any better _last_ year, or the year before that, or the year before _that_. And, truthfully, it wasn't all that bad. It was just irritating and he felt like whining. Which wasn't anything new, so nobody paid any mind.

Despite being unbearably boring (in Edward's opinion), the school days went on without a hitch. Winry and the Elrics started to fall into a comfortable routine. Every day they'd eat lunch in the courtyard at the same stone table, just beneath a little wisteria tree, enjoying the sunlight. Or in Ed's case sulking about something stupid.

When the bell rang for the end of lunch period on the second Monday of school, Ed jerkily lifted his head off of the stone table. Taking a deep breath, he wondered when in the world he'd fallen asleep. _And where the Hell are Al and Winry? Damn them for leaving me here!_

In a rush, he picked his books up off the bench beside him and hurried off to his locker.

It wasn't until he'd turned the contents of his locker inside-out that he realized he'd left his Pre-Calc book laying under the table, and rushed off to retrieve it, hoping not to be too late. He didn't seem to care that he'd left his locker wide open. Not, of course, that he had anything of value in it. What could he care if his World History book was stolen? Maybe then he'd have an excuse not to attend that stupid class.

The warning bell rang seconds later and a short, dark-haired nark walked through the hall, urging students to hurry to class.

"Hurry up, don't be late for class," he admonished. "Please, don't run in the hallways. Excuse me, could you- Hey-!"

The rowdy student that the nark was fruitlessly trying to scold turned around and scowled at him. "Shut the fuck up, annoying fucking nark," he growled. And as a demonstration of just who was boss in that hallway, the student (who was, by the way, a jock and about twice the size of the poor nark) shoved the smaller man into the nearest open locker and slammed the door on him. Without a second glance, the jock and rest of the students in the hall went on their merry way and the hallway was soon empty.

"…Um, can someone please help me? …Please?" The cries of the nark, muffled by the metal of the locker, echoed just slightly and fell to silence. He really hoped that whoever owned that particular locker came to open it soon, because it was already getting kind of hot and cramped in there and a couple books were digging into his back uncomfortably.

He was endlessly relieved when Edward opened the door and he tumbled out. Edward, however, was slightly miffed.

"Isn't it a little early to be shoving geeks into lockers already?" he wondered aloud. And then he decided to take a look at his locker's temporary resident. And the nametag that he wore… _Oh, a nark. …Oops._ "Hey, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that geek thing."

But the little nark was shaking his head rapidly. "No, no, it's ok. Thank you! I'm Cain Fury. I just started working here last week…" He hastily stuttered his thanks and stuck out his hand politely.

Ed shook with him. "I'm Edward Elric."

Fury gave a wide smile. "Nice to meet you. And I'm _really_ sorry about the locker thing. I was just trying to get some guys to stop running, but I guess they don't like to be told what to do…"

"Yeah, it's okay," Ed said as he replaced some things in his locker and fished out his notebook. "Some of those guys like to pick on anything that's smaller than them."

"Oh, are you speaking from experience?" Fury asked with sympathetic curiosity.

Ed's eye twitched. "Are you implying something?" he asked, his eyes narrowed on the nark's painfully naïve face.

"Um, no…" Fury started to stutter awkwardly again. He didn't like that look Ed was giving him so he changed the subject. "Oh, uh, do you want a pass to class?"

Edward's glare melted away. "Yeah, thanks," he said as he accepted the slip of paper with a hastily scrawled excuse on it. Finally gathering up his stuff, he started to walk down the hall toward his math class. "See ya later," he called over his shoulder. He began to run down the hallway at a dangerous clip. Fury didn't bother asking him to walk.

-------------------

"Hey, what's going on today?"

The cafeteria was teeming with people. Students, teachers, and other staff members were milling around busily. It looked chaotic. There were signs, posters, and booths set up around the walls, making it hard to get anywhere.

"I think they're having the Club Drive," Winry said to the brothers.

Ed groaned. "Great, just what I needed to help this headache. People screaming across the room and giggling girls with less than half a brain-cell telling you to '_come join our club, it'll be so much fun!_' Yeah, I think not."

Winry rolled her eyes. "Oh, Ed! Stop being so bitter. I think clubs are a great idea."

"Yeah," Alphonse agreed. "Actually… I was thinking about joining one this year."

The other two turned to look at him in surprise. "Really?" Winry asked curiously. "Which one?"

Al stammered. "Um… well, I don't really know… I thought maybe I'd look around to see which ones there are."

Ed scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Why the hell would you want to join one of those stupid clubs?"

Alphonse looked a little hurt, but he tried to argue his point. "Well, they say it looks really good on a college application, you know. And anyway, I thought it might be kind of… fun?"

Winry smiled supportively. "That's great, Al. I think you should! C'mon, let's go look!" She took a slightly surprised Al by the arm and led him off to the lines of booths. With nothing else to do, Ed was forced to follow.

They passed stands advertising all sorts of clubs and organizations, everything from Key-Club, to Spanish club, to Food-appreciation club. Ed was curiously watching several members of the break-dance club perform for a group of interested onlookers when he felt someone staring at him. He turned quickly around to see a girl looking nervously at him from behind her booth. She frowned when she noticed him looking.

"What do you want?" she asked angrily.

Edward wasn't sure what to say. _What the hell is up with this girl? _he thought. _She was the one who was staring at me! _"Nothing," he replied hotly. "Don't _you_ want _me_ to join your club or something? What is it anyway?"

The brunette girl narrowed her eyes and clutched at the necklace she was wearing. "It's the Christian club. And _no_, I don't want you to join."

Ed took a step back but continued to glare. "What an attitude on a religious girl," he declared. "I don't care to know much about religions or anything, but shouldn't you be a little more _gentle_ or something?"

The Christian club girl looked like she was about to jump over the stand, tackle Ed to the ground, and _gently_ beat him to bloody pulp. Luckily, before she had the chance, Alphonse and Winry reappeared behind Ed. They took a quick look at the scene and hastily started to lead Ed away from the booth, making sure not to look back.

When they were far enough away, Alphonse turned his still-scowling brother around. "What in the world did you do this time! That girl looked like she was going to murder you!"

Edward crossed his arms defensively. "I didn't do anything. She started it! She was staring at me, and then I turned around to see what the hell her problem was and she blew up in my face! I don't even know who she _is_."

Winry thought for a second. "She was in one of my classes last year. I think her name is Rose or something. I didn't talk to her very much, but she was always really quiet and polite. You must have done something to upset her. She looked awfully mad."

"I told you," Edward yelled, "_She_ was the one provoking _me_ for no reason!"

The others sighed. They knew full well that nothing they said could get past Ed's thick skull and hot temper. It was almost pitifully comical the way he acted sometimes. They shook their heads and moved on through the crowd, Ed still following behind them, still angrily trying to justify his idiotic actions.

-------------------

"It seems we have a new student today?"

Mustang glanced around the room, looking for any extra additions to his class. Seeing no hands raised or any other indication of a new student, he consulted his roster.

He flinched visibly as he read the name aloud. "Mary-Sue? May-Sue Dixon?"

The name caused a ripple effect in the classroom. People shivered, most unconsciously. Ed shuddered. There was something about that name! It seemed to strike fear into his heart. He looked around the class but luckily there didn't seem to be any "Mary-Sue" around. He sighed in relief. Maybe she'd transferred to a different school or something. People did that a lot, didn't they?

Ed opted not to worry about the mystery girl and instead turned his attention back to Mr. Mustang, who was scribbling something on the whiteboard. That damn man was his worst nightmare! He teased him constantly, calling him "Chibi Elric" and making various other references to his lack of height. It was infuriating; it was driving Edward absolutely nutty.

"All right, who can tell me some of the similarities between the ancient Romans and the ancient Greeks?" Mr. Mustang scanned the room for raised hands. He found several, the majority of them attached to over-eager young girls. However… "Elric."

Ed was jolted out of his thoughts as he raised his head to look his teacher in the eyes. "I wasn't raising my hand," he said.

Mustang smirked. "I'm fully aware of this."

"Then why the hell did you call on me?" Ed asked, frowning.

"Because," Mr. Mustang answered, leering, "I am the teacher and I have the responsibility to make sure every student participates."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm so sure." He sighed. "I don't know anything about the Romans or the Greeks, and I really don't care."

Mr. Mustang shook his head at the boy. "Well, I suggest that you pay attention, since there will be a test on this. And that goes for the rest of you too, of course," he said, reverting back to his proper teacher mode.

Edward crossed his arms huffily and narrowed his eyes. It really was perplexing to him that anybody could be this annoying. And on purpose! It was so obvious that Mustang did it consciously. Always calling him names, picking on him when he wasn't paying attention, and all with that sickening gleam in his eye.

_What the hell is this guy's problem? _he wondered as he went back to contemplating his class work.

-------------------

"I think you're just being over-dramatic, Ed!"

Edward considered bashing his head into the next lamp-post he saw. He was walking home with Winry (since Al was still at school, helping out with a tutoring session or something of that matter), and he'd been trying to tell her about his stupid teacher, but she really wasn't being any help at all. He started to walk sideways so he could face her. "I'm not being over-dramatic! Seriously! This teacher has problems or something. He's got it in for me, I'm telling you! Why won't you believe me?"

Winry laughed softly. "Because I know you, Ed," she replied.

Side-stepping a pothole, Ed turned back to the sidewalk. "This is just like a horror movie," he said, pouting. "I'm the victim and Mustang's the killer, but nobody believes me when I tell them, so he ends up murdering me in my sleep one night!"

Winry bit back a cackle of laughter, trying not to get her little friend worked up more than he was. "Actually, I think it's a little more like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. You know how that story goes, don't you Ed?" By now Winry was giggling quite madly at her own impersonation of Edward. "'_Somebody help me! Everyone's out to get me! I'm so defenseless, and the world hates me, just because I'm short!_' Hahaha! Besides, he can't murder you in your sleep unless you told him where your house is!"

Ed glowered at her. "Winry, stop making fun of me! This is a serious situation!"

"Yeah, seriously ridiculous. Oh, Ed! Stop worrying about it! I'm sure it's nothing."

"Yeah, right. You don't see the way he stares at me." Ed put his head down and kept walking, leaving Winry to her thoughts.

_Oh, Ed's just being his normal self, right? _She looked over at his sulky form. _No…I wonder what's really wrong with him lately?_ Winry sighed and put it behind her, deciding that if Ed thought it was important enough he'd tell her sooner or later.

**End Chapter Two**

Well, there it is. I edited it a million times, and I still don't like it. But there it is. It's over!  
Anyway, I really hope youliked it! If you did, please feel free to leave a review! If you didn't like it and you feel like being mean, go ahead and leave a flame.  
So, next chapter is on the way. Reviews make it appear faster! (Gee, I really sound pathetic, don't I? Heh. ;)  
'Til next time, everyone!  
-Kloudy Reignfall


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